There are many things in the works these days as we plan out our efforts to get National Thank You Day on every calendar across the Nation. The 10th year anniversary of the fun we’ve been having is 3 years away and planning for it has started, so mark your calendars now to blow it out of the water on May 19th 2019!

For now, National Thank You Day is back for the 7th year in a row!! And…. a free patch is back too!! Many groups, troops, classes, clubs and individuals have done all kinds of things to show appreciation to First Responders and we’ll all be doing it again this year!

Do something special on, or around, May 19th 2016 to show appreciation to the men and women that put their hearts and lives on the line to protect and save ours. Send us some photos of what you did to say Thank You and a free fun patch will be sent your way! (We’ve already had a troop send us pictures of what they did this year!!)

Start making cards, planning parties, creating signs and banners, and any creative idea you can think of to say thank you to every First Responder out there. Then take some pictures of what you did and send them to us so we can inspire others to do the same!

The pictures need to show what was done or delivered, and the people involved. Cards? Posters? Flowers? Treats? Did you throw a party? Did you plant some flowers for them? Any activity will work. We’d like some of the pictures to include some of the First Responders on the receiving end, but we realize some of the activities might be done anonymously so please send us some photos that show a part of your surprise so we know what was done. If you are sending thank you cards in the mail, or leaving a gift card for a free latte behind the counter at a coffee shop, a photo of the cards ready to head out to the mail box or someone with a grin holding the gift card before it’s handed to the cashier will work perfectly.

In the past we said up to 12 patches will be sent to any group, troop, or individual that sends us 2 or more photos of how you expressed gratitude to these amazing people. Since we realize many troops or groups include more than 12 people working on the Thank You’s, please know that everyone that puts their efforts into creating the Thank You deserves a patch for their efforts. We trust that it won’t become a “Free for all” with the amount of patches requested so please make sure anyone that participated gets a patch if they want one. (Sometimes even the leaders like patches 😉

Here are the specifics on how to get your patches:

Send us one email (We know we are going to be repeating the “One email” rule here, but it gets confusing here at home base if it’s not all in one email, so please send all in one email)
to: Markellyc@comcast.net that includes:

1) 2 or more photos that include the Thank You activity and, ideally, some of the First Responders being thanked.
2) The number of patches needed.
3) The contact name and address to send them to.
(We’d love more photos if you have them, and we’d love to hear some of the details of what you did too!)

If we all stop and take a moment to look at what these amazing people do protect us and save our lives, we’d see just how much they deserve to be recognized for what they do. Saying Thank You will make a difference for them, which will make a difference for everyone. It’s a community service that is very easy to do. Please check out the links below to learn more about the day, ideas to celebrate it, and more.

We are getting off to a late start setting up what we are going to do to thank First Responders on or around May 19th this year. Little bits of life decided to get annoying at just the wrong time. 😉

The main thing we want to tell you today is that National Thank You Day to Honor First Responders will go on! Planning starts now!!!

We’ve heard from some of you that you are already making plans and we couldn’t be more excited that you are taking off with this! One of the questions is “Are the patches going to be available this year?”. The answer to that is: YES! The Thank You Day 2016 patch will go out again to anyone that would like one and does something special to thank their local First Responders.

There are lots of thoughts whirling around on how to make this bigger and better each year. We’d love to hear from you with all your questions, thoughts, and ideas so consider this an open invitation to let the home team know what they are. You can send an email to: markellyc@comcast.net. We are a team and it’s obvious nothing will stop us. Let’s rock it this year! 😉

OK, the holidays have passed and we can now start to gear up for National Thank You Day 2016!!
Let’s put May 19th on our calendars and start making our plans!
The photos of all the activities around May 19th 2015 will start showing up here soon. Please pass them along to everyone you know and invite them to join the fun!
Let’s make year #7 the best one yet!!